Broken Wings
by xPaige Turnerx
Summary: AU. If Twilight never happened and Bella wasn't human. R&R!


**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. Some of the characteristics of Bella in here are similar to characters in the story Ink Exchange though they do have differences. And Anything you see from the HoN series I don't own either.**

**Rated: T.**

**Author: Paige Turner.**

**Summary: AU. If Twilight never happened and Bella wasn't human. R&R! ^^**

**BELLA**

Snarling, nearly as loud as the thunder booming above me could be heard. I had never heard so much noise in my life; the thunder, like God was bowling on top of the large, nearly black cloud covering the sky, the snarling of beasts, the noise rumbling from deep within their furry chests, the branches snapping, tearing as they caught on my clothes on my way by, even the padding of my feet on the muddied ground beneath me as I ran as fast as my legs could possibly carry me through the forest. And I would never forget these sounds, never forget the way they all came together in their own dark little symphony as I raced for my life. A soundtrack to the horrors I had just witnessed.

The sights, oh the sights, they weren't better. They were worse, by far. Large, angry rain drops pouring down on the trees and myself, pelting my skin with their speed, distorting my vision. Or perhaps that was my tears. It was hard to tell at that point. What I could see; I didn't like. The forest, normally a warm, loving, welcoming playground, was cold and hard tonight. The tree branches were angry claws reaching out at me, trying to hold me back for the beasts. They tore at my skin and clothing, gripping on to whatever they could reach, like the bony fingers of Death itself. These were not the same branches that I was use to swinging and jumping on and from. The boulders, usually obstacles to push me further, were just in the way, slowing me down as I jumped over and off of them. The small streams I'd splash around and wash myself from, were currents threatening to sweep me off my feet and leave me helpless. The brown mud I'd stomp around in, now black guck that clung to my legs, weighing me down.

And the Wolves. The beasts. The monsters. Their sight would forever be burned in my memory. Giants. The size of horses. The thick, dirty fur on their backs and necks standing on ends. The skin over their snouts rippled and pulled back to reveal their long, sharp, _yellow_ canines. The drool dripping and foaming from said snout. The muscles rippling from their legs and chests. Their claws digging into the Earth, ripping her up as they launched themselves faster and faster towards me. And their haunting yellow eyes.

No, I would never forget any of this.

It was like those dreams you can't forget. Sometimes you wake up and can't remember anything. Sometimes just snippets. But there is one kind of dream you remember, and you remember it in vivid detail. Every sound. Every sight. Every smell. Every feeling. Every taste. Yes, the one type of dream you remember, but the one type of dream you _don't want_ to remember.

Nightmares.

And I was living mine. Just _lived_ it. And it would stay with me for the rest of my life. Whether I wanted it to or not. And unfortunately, the rest of my life was a _very_ long time. I mean, it usually is for an immortal.

Or at least, I thought it was a long time. But there are ways around that. These beasts had just proven that to me right here...

_I giggled as I swung from the sturdy branch, landing on another from another tree, lower to the ground. The leaves and branches of the tree danced in the wind as it whistled, creating it's own, unique music. If you ever stop to listen, you'd know that nature is very musical, from the birds singing, to the wind swaying it, the grass, trees, bushes._

_But I had no time to stop and listen; I was late for dinner._

_I jumped down from the tree, landing with a soft thud on the ground, patting it before standing up from my crouch. Then I took off, a light jog towards the camp. The Flock had moved again, a request from the Elders. And of course, we had to do what they said. All Flocks have to listen to their Elders. They're all wise, all knowing, all blah blah blah. I never really paid attention to that class. Well, not that part of the class. Otherwise I really enjoyed History._

_I could see the smoke pillars above the trees just a hundred yards or so away and picked up the pace. My stomach was rumbling, I was that hungry. Plus the sky was getting grey and Renee didn't like when I was out past dark in the new woods. The Scouts had yet to check out the entire area._

_My foot, getting caught in an uprooted...root, tripped me, sending me flying face first into the floor of the forest. It happened...well, a lot, to me. I was the clumsiest of the Flock. I was also the youngest, my Hunger hadn't kicked in yet, nor had my Element. As far as the others in the Flock were concerned, I wasn't much. Which is also why Renee worried so much. She was afraid if something ever happened, I wouldn't be able to protect myself or do anything really. The support I got was heartwarming._

_Yes, if there was one thing I could do; it was sarcasm._

_Shrugging it off, I pushed myself back up to my feet, dusted my front off, and kept on running. By the time I eventually got back to camp, it _was_ dark out and had begun to lightly sprinkle. I pushed through the thick vines and bushes, into the hidden camp that was in the largest clearing the Scouts could find. The camp was fairly big, all fifteen families had their own large tents. Then there were the schooling tents for every class. The fire pit for cooking, stories, and just lounging by. And a lot of free area for kids to run around._

_That was the usual scene whenever I came back from playing in the woods. Everyone gathered around the large fire, talking, laughing, eating with one another in the glow of the fire._

_Tonight was different._

_Tonight had me freezing up, my throat closing, my eyes widening, my heart skipping and faltering._

_Bodies. Blood. Screaming. Bodies. Blood. Everywhere._

Everywhere_._

_Bodies of the Flock surrounding the fire. In the clearing. Half way in their tents. All lying unmoving, leaking crimson._

_Then there were other bodies, in the upright position, leaking, but fighting._

_Fighting _monsters_._

_Large dogs. No; wolves._

_Wolves that were snapping, ramming, biting, and clawing at my friends, my family. My eyes flickered over to the Weapons and Armor tent. No one was there. No one was trying to get there. No one _could_ get there. A large grey wolf was pacing in front of it, snarling and howling._

_My eyes flew back to the brutal scene of their own accord. Bodies. Blood. Screaming..._

_"DAD!" I screamed, seeing Charlie sitting, propped up against a tree to my right, a couple yards away. My feet carried me over there faster than I had ever gone and I was standing beside him, reaching up to wipe the blood running from his forehead into his eyes. All the adults of the Flock were extraordinarily tall. Taller than humans. I held my hands there so he could open his eyes, though they were a cloudy silver when he did._

_"Bella..." His voice was faint and he coughed a lot before he spoke again. "Run Bella! Get out of here! Hide! Fly off!" He was urgent, pulling my hands from his face in his large, calloused ones._

_"But daddy!" I cried, gripping his shirt. I couldn't leave him. He couldn't fight like this! And where was Renee?_

_"No, Bella. Go!" He said, grabbing his stomach with one hand while the other tried to push me towards the bushes._

_"Where mom?" I whispered, grabbing his sleeve and clinging to him._

_An expression I had never seen that made my heart clench came across his face. "Just go, sweetie. Don't turn back. Don't come back. The wolves will find you if you do." He reached under the collar of his shirt, gripping the silver crescent moon hanging from a silver chain and took it off, hanging it around my neck. "Bella, go _now_. Find the Spring Court if you can, but just get somewhere safe." The authority in his voice was clear and I had no choice but to obey. "I love you, my little Bell." He said, hoisting himself to his feet, towering over me._

_I nodded, watching him limp around the tent we were behind, into the camp clearing, with tears running down my cheeks._

_And then I ran._

And I was still running. I wasn't sure how long I had been; my legs were burning and aching, much like my lungs. My heart was pounding so hard in my chest it hurt. And I was starting to see spots in my vision. I had never run this fast or this long in my entire life. Not during Training, not when the Scouts took me along with them, and not when I'd just play in the forests. But I also wasn't about to stop, not until my legs absolutely couldn't take anymore and gave out; because the snarling and barking was getting louder.

_**Whap!**_

Man, if I thought my vision was bad before... The whole world was shaking and spinning. I groaned, grabbing my ribs that started to ache from the branch I had run into. But what was worse than the ache, worse than the dizziness, worse than all of it...was there was no more snarling. It was dead quiet, other than the rain and thunder.

I shakily got to my feet, pulling myself up while holding on to the tree to steady me. Scanning the area around me, like Charlie had taught me just a couple of months ago, I tried to even out my breathing. Nothing; just trees swaying violently in the wind, bush branches rattling, ripples in the few puddles scattered around the ground, glowing yellow eyes, dark grey...glowing yellow eyes?

My breath caught in my throat as my legs pushed off the ground and my arms reached out for branches to hang on to as the wolf leapt at me. The tree shook and I almost lost my grip on the branch as the wolf collided with it, snarling and clawing up at me. I pulled myself higher into the tree as the wolf began jumping, hooking it's claws into the trunk of the tree and pulling itself higher as well.

The next branch I grabbed broke and I fell, rolling down the wolf's back, narrowly missing it's open jaws that snapped at me. Landing on my stomach, I sprang back up to my feet in time for the wolf to land right beside me. I looked up into it's eyes, rage and hatred burning in them as it glared back at me, and I think I squeaked. That is, before I took off again, this time running and jumping and slipping through and in between the smaller trees that were closer together, hearing the wolf snap and rip through them, slowing it down.

Seeing a giant tree, and it's huge roots that were only a little smaller than the wolf chasing me, uprooted and arched, I jumped at it, crawling under the roots, and under the tree itself. The wolf lunged as well, biting through and clawing at the large roots in it's way to getting me. It's large paws reached under the tree and I screamed, pushing myself farther back away as it's claws dug into the Earth, pulling the dirt towards it, digging down, trying to get at me. It's large head appeared, snapping way too close to me, and I had to lift my legs, pushing it's head back out with them as I screamed bloody murder.

I kicked my heel into the side of it's face and it yelped, yanking it's head back. I turned, and crawled out from under the tree on the other side, and began sprinting away again and the wolf howled.

All of the sudden, without any warning, the wolf halted and skidded to a stop. I turned and saw it not ten feet away, growling to itself and pacing side to side as it glared me down. I didn't understand; why had it stopped? Why wasn't it still chasing me? Was it because the moon was going down? I looked up and shook my head. No; there were still hours left of the night.

The wolf howled before it took off back the way we came, and I jumped.

What just happened?

Well, I knew one thing; I wasn't heading back that way. I'd just keep going the way I was.

Not as fast this time, I jogged off the way I was heading in still, not as rushed as I made my way through the forest.

The forest started looking more like it usually did, there was no clawed branches reaching out for me, the ground was softer, more grass covering it, not as much boulders, and more flowers and wild life. Finally my heart started to slow and my breathing came easier, my legs were still warm, but not hurting anymore.

I stumbled from the tree line and into a clearing, doubling over to catch my breath. When I did, I looked up; I saw that it wasn't actually a clearing I had come across; it was a yard. A huge yard, with an enormous white and glass mansion in it, with a long, twisting driveway. My stomach growled, reminding me I hadn't eaten, and I realized how tired I was then. I could barely keep my eyes open.

I groggily made my way across the yard and to the house, closing my eyes to listen for anyone inside. When I heard no snoring, no scuffling, no talking, and no heart beats, I looked up for an open window. People always left a window open.

And there it was. Quite a large window actually. I stepped back and pushed off the ground, jumping as high as I could, stroked down with my wings, reaching out and grabbing the window sill. I pulled myself in, crashing down on a dresser and to the floor. I paused, holding my breath, and when no one came running I knew the house was empty. I got to my feet, looking down at the red carpet and up at the red ceiling. The walls, bed frame, dressers, and furniture were all black, though the sheets, pillows, and other things were red as well.

I slowly crept over to the huge bed, pushing down on it with my hands, my eyes growing wide at how soft it felt. Someone in the corner of the room had me freezing until I realized it was a full length mirror. I took a moment to look over myself, make sure all my cuts were healed. My long mahogany hair was damp still from the rain and had a few twigs in it that I pulled out, my skin, the palest of everyone in the Flock, was healed up with no cuts. The filled in emerald green crescent moon shone in the moonlight spilling in from the open window, connected to the intricate swirls surrounding and covering my silver eyes, disappearing back into my hairline above my pointed ears, though you couldn't see it. They continued down along my spine in between my black wings that were emerald green at the tips, wrapping around my waist, up the inside sides of my arms, covering my palms, and down the outside sides of my legs, covering the soles of my feet.

If I wasn't what I was, I wouldn't have made it out of the forest alive; if I wasn't a Faerie.

If I wasn't so tired, I could have laughed; a six year old Faerie outran a giant wolf-thing. A whole pack, of giant wolf-things.

As soon as my head hit the red pillows, I was out cold. And because of that, I didn't hear the front door on the ground floor open and close. Nor did I hear people pause, then quickly make their way up the stairs. And I certainly didn't hear the bedroom door open and the multiple gasps.

**XxXxXx**

**Another new story. Review and tell me what you think please.**

**-Paige**


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